stars above
by kneeshee
Summary: the stars brought them together the stars tore them apart and the stars kept them connected. james x keith jaith jeith
1. prologue

p class="p1"span class="s1"It was simply a matter of facts. Every three years. Every semester. There were always a trio of students that just /span span class="s2"clicked/spanspan class="s1"./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Sometimes they were friends. Sometimes they weren't. But there always something that made them gravitate towards each other. /span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"For so long there had been Team S.A.M. all under Commander Holt's leadership. His prized pupils. There was his son, Matt, a tech genius. Adam Watson, a mechanical engineer that's always trying to find a way to improve the flight cruisers and upgrading the simulators. And Takashi Shirogane, one of the most legendary pilots the world has ever seen. The young boys were also lovers./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"But that's the thing. Trios are made of exceptional young cadets, but trios don't come into existence until at least their second year./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Which is why it was so baffling to see a trio in the making between three first year cadets during the first half of their semester. Whispers had already begun about Commander Jim Rhodes taking an interest in the trio./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"All the higher ups could already see it. James Griffin, son of Commander Griffin, was an exceptional pilot and engineer breaking all of Officer Watson's records and just stop short on breaking Officer Shirogane. A mechanical engineer like no other. He was able to take apart and reassemble an engine in a matter of minutes./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"Then there's Indirah Stark, a roundabout genius that also took an unnerving thrill in how far she can push technology. Whispers stated that her godfather/guardian laughed and encourage her whenever she gets an idea. (He also paid for her a single room since reinventing the tech industry needs to be done in private) Not to mention her need to customize the simulators in the middle of flying the simulators. (Iverson didn't know that they could do the things she made them. (Matt was drooling))/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"And finally, Keith Kogane. If the world thought Shirogane was the best pilot, then they had nothing on Kogane. He broke every record set. And then broke his own records. He was exceptional. He was a dream. The higher ups were drooling over the endorsements he could bring in. (Shirogane hadn't even managed to get requesting the boy as a mentee out before they were all signing off yes.)/span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"But there was one problem about this trip compared to their predecessors. A problem so baffling that it was a wonder that they managed to get through their simulators so well./span/p  
p class="p1"span class="s1"They all hated each other./span u/uspan style="text-decoration: line-through;"/span/p 


	2. one

Indirah was doing what she does best. Hiding away in her dorm with machinery that she had no clearance to and making a mess of things. Her hair was in a ponytail. She was in sweats and a tank top. Her larger than life toolbox was opened, and her glasses were perched firmly on her nose.

And then there was a knock on her door.

A growl in her throat.

She sighed deeply and pouted as she moved put her project to the side. The Garrison needed this (and she didn't know how she was going to field test it but whatever). A long-range communicator that can be used no matter where they were in the universe? Or even the multiverse if her godfather's theory was right.

There was that knock again.

She didn't even try to make herself into something more presentable. This was _her_ time. And the only one to actually visit her was her Uncle Rhodey.

Which is why it was so surprising when she opened her door to find the Garrison's Golden Trio Designation S.A.M. outside her door. She was determinedly ignoring the figures of those two punk ass bastards behind them.

Griffin who had no respect for creating art on the spot during the simulators even when they do help save their asses. Or Kogane who decides no one is worth his time and abuses the art that saves their asses.

Her scowls deepen.

"We can come back if you're busy," the brown haired one states awkwardly. _Matt, _her minds recalls.

[_"__If he wasn't so obsessed with spaceships and shit, I'd definitely love to have him at Stark Industries. Try to get him at SI, Indie."]_

"I'm not," she sighs. She runs a hand through her hair. She can always work on her project later. It's not every day the current GGT visits random cadets. Though she could do without the other two assholes.

She steps aside and lets them into her dormitory apartment. She leads them to the kitchen carefully stepping around her stuff that's lying hazard alongside the floor. Once they were all in there, she resolutely ignores how her classmates were frowning in disgust at her living room.

Indirah's kitchen doesn't have much in it. She usually forgets to eat, but ever since Uncle Rhodey got himself transferred to the Garrison to _watch _over her… her fridge was usually stocked weekly.

She rummages through her cabinets to make tea. The generic brand that the Garrison sells because GGT or not, there was no way she was using her good shit for them. And they brought Kogane and Griffin and that's just _no_. She begins to prep the tea while also turning to towards her coffee pot.

["_You're only fifteen, Indie. You're too young to be drinking coffee. I swear Tony is a bad influence._]

"So, what can I do for the Garrison's Golden Boys," she mocks with a small eyebrow raised. If they wanted respect and protocol, then they can get it outside of _her _hours. And beside she likes to see how far she can push the higher ups because even she knows they want her mind and her godfather's money.

She inwardly cackles at the way Shirogane's nose scrunch up. Watson reaches and grabs his hand. "Well we have a proposition for the three of you."

Indirah's face immediately scrunches in disgust, "I'm not joining in on your nerd orgie!"

Griffin's jaw drops in horror and Kogane is staring into space with a look of disbelief. The older three were spluttering indignantly. The tea kettle was shrieking, and the coffee machine was singing. She hums a little confused as she goes about serving the drinks.

"No. No. **_NO_**," Watson states firmly while the other two shake their head. "Nothing of the sort—"

"WHY WOULD YOU EVEN THINK THAT," Holt dramatically cries. Indirah flinches back _hard_. The coffee spills on her hand and she lets out a low hiss at the feeling. Griffin is quickly by her side and pulling her hand under some cold water. And she's staring at him wondering what the fuck he was doing so close to her personal space outside the simulator.

"I'm fine," she tells him. Kogane is staring at him like the boy had a mental problem. Indirah can't find it in herself to disagree. Griffin nods his head stiffly before grabbing his tea and sitting back in his place on the side of Watson.

Holt is staring at them with a strange expression on his face. Amusement? But when she catches his eye, his whole expression changes. "Um, why would you think that?"

She shrugs, "It wouldn't be the first time an officer asked me."

Kogane's and Griffin's eyes widen and the GGT jaws drop open. Shirogane starts to shake his head, "That's beyond the level of inappropriate behavior especially to an underage cadet."

Indirah shrugs again, "They think I'm easy and willing to do anything because that's how they think Dad is. Its why Officer Rhodes transferred over and why a lot of other officers got transferred or demoted to other bases."

"Its still wrong," Griffin argued. She scowled. "I'm surprised you think that. Teacher's _Pet. _This definitely wouldn't have been the first time the higher ups asked me to join in with _you_."

Griffin flinched back and his eyes widen in horror and fear. He moved away from the older men. But Indirah will admit to no one but herself how his broken and scared expression filled her with guilt.

"We'll come back to that later," Watson announces. And she scowls deeper. She'd rather they never come back. And she can go about ignoring the other two cadets unless they were paired up in sims again. Which of course was rare since they were all fighter pilots. "The proposition is to be our trio in the MM Program."

The MM program was formally known as the Milkyway Mentee Program. Random cadets that showed promising talent were picked by their seniors and taken under their wing. They were usually chosen one by one. Never had she heard of a Galaxy Trio mentoring another trio.

They want her to what?

"I'm sorry, sir, but what," Griffin deadpans. Kogane is scowling, "Shiro—"

Indirah snorts, "I'm not sure if you all noticed but we hate each other."

Holt just chuckles good-naturedly, "Ah, that means nothing. Shiro and Adam didn't like each other at first. Not to mention me and Adam couldn't even be in the same room together. We didn't hate each other. Just disliked and petty grudges."

Three younger children scowled darkly at him. Kogane is the one to speak, "I hope you're not suggesting that we'd end up together?"

Indirah began muttering under her breath, "I'll trade them both for two Stark phones. And I get those for _free_." She stubbornly ignored the way both assholes glared at her.

Shirogane shakes his head and smiles at the dark-haired boy," No, but being friends isn't too much of a stretch."

Watson has a smile on his face, "You three are currently battling it out for the number one spot between all of your classmates. You all rotate the line up each day. Your group simulation modules are off the charts. Each of you have beaten our own records in your respective fields brutally. You three have the potential to become the next GGT."

Indirah immediately began to splutter out denials. Kogane seemed to stare at her and Griffin with horror. And Griffin looked like a weird mixture of proud and terrified.

Sure, being a GGT would not only be good on any resume and bring in endorsements and deals to SI, but couldn't they let her do with anybody else.

"We'll do it," Griffin suddenly declared. Twin glares shot towards him and he barely flinched under their intensity. Its not like she and Kogane don't glare at him daily.

"You don't get to make decisions for me, Griffin," she growled out. Her fingers clutching her mug tightly. Kogane, however, just seemed content to glare murderously at the other boy.

"We just got a once in a lifetime opportunity-"

"Oh, I thought being accepted into the Garrison only because of Daddy's money was a lifetime opportunity," she mocked. Kogane snorted, "Considering who his dad is, he shouldn't make comments like that."

Griffin glowered at them both, "Tch. Kogane, you're only here because of Shirogane taking a chance on you. And you just throw it back in his face."

The three of them started to argue. Loudly. The older men stared at them in disbelief and horror as their words turned more poisonous.

"What the little orphan is gonna cry or something?" Griffin spat out at her.

"I'd rather be an orphan than have bitch you call Mother," she shot back slamming her mug onto the counter. "Tell me is she still pulling at your hair when your grades drop?"

"I thought you got taken away from her," Kogane mocked. "Daddy had to come save you."

"OKAY," Holt cried out as the three cadets started moving towards each other. "That's enough."

"The three of you were completely out of line," Watson scolded. "I want detailed apologies from each of you to the other two on my desk in the morning. NO mincing words and no slipping in insults. It's clear that the three of you _do _need this mentorship even if it is outside of coursework. We'll be signing you up into the program in the morning."

Shirogane looked at them all with disappointment in his eyes. It didn't really affect Indirah. She didn't get a hard-on for his approval like the other two. Griffin looked like someone had kicked his puppy as the three of them got scolded. Kogane nearly flinched as Shirogane's disheartened eyes settled over him.

"Whatever," she mumbled looking down into her coffee mug. She looked up when she felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Holt looking at her a little sadly. "This is for your own good. You three have so much potential and we just want to help you all bring it out."

She inwardly sighed before nodding, "Fine. I'll do it. No complaints."

Kogane nodded his head, "Me too."

The three men smiled somewhat warmly at them before standing up. "Come one. It's almost curfew. We'll be back in the morning to pick you all up for breakfast. We might as well get an early start."

The three cadets scowled again before huffing. Indirah led them back to the door and said nothing as they all left out. And if she glared death into Griffin and Kogane's soul, they can at least count that she wouldn't do so the next day.

After they left, she stood rooted in her spot for a couple more seconds before screaming in frustration.

Stars in Heaven, what did she just get herself into?


	3. two

James could hardly sleep last night.

He hadn't known what he was thinking when he blurted out that he was w_illing _to work with Keith **and **Indirah outside of class hours. He was sure that he was having an out of body experience from the moment the current Garrison Golden Trio approached him. He had thought he was in trouble when he saw Keith scowling at him from behind them.

And then they were walking into the girls' dormitories and heading towards the officers' barracks. He and Keith had shared a look of confusion when Officer Shirogane stopped and knocked on a random door. A small scream that was basically a growled echoed through the door. There was the sound of things being moved around before Officer Shirogane knocked again.

The door flew open and James' breath caught in his throat.

Indirah Stark was standing before them with her auburn curls pulled into a ponytail and glasses perched firmly on her nose. (He didn't even know she wore glasses.) There was a grease stain on her cheek. Her spaghetti strapped tank top was riding up her stomach and was cut low enough to show off her breasts. Her sweatpants hung low on her hips and James could see a hint of lace. His face was on fire from how hard he was blushing.

She was beautiful.

But then she's inviting them into her apartment dormitory and the spell is broken. It's a mess. There was so much machinery and tools and all-around junk lying around. He's an engineer and likes people stuff as much as the next guy or girl but this was too much. Though he was pretty sure that one of the boxes on her table wasn't supposed to be on her table from the looks Officer Watson and Holt wore on their faces.

James still really couldn't believe what was going on even when he was sitting at her table.

He could barely remember when he jumped out of his seat the moment, she spilt coffee on her hand. That's how out of it he was.

However, he _does_ remember when she spoke of officers propositioning her. He remembers fears death grip wen she mentions how they perve after him. He'd think back over that fact late at night when he's sitting on the floor in his dorm's shower crying on the phone to his father.

_["They wont touch you, JayJay. I'd end them before they get the chance.]_

But then Officer Watson states that he and the others want him and the other two cadets to be their mentees and become the next GGT.

His mind blanked out even further.

James had never questioned authority, but it was oh so clear that the three of them were out of their damn minds.

When Indirah says they hate each other, well he doesn't disagree. Not that he agrees either. He doesn't hate them. He just has a strong… very strong dislike for them.

The two of them were just so… so fucking troublesome. It made him want to pull his hair out.

And not to mention to insinuate that the three of them would end up together? To be friends?

He wanted to laugh.

Though there was some pride there for the acknowledgement of the hard work that they-he-whatever put in. But to be the next GGT was a bit of a stretch. Let alone friends or worse, lovers. But he's blurting out his agreement and he only slightly twitches when Keith and Indirah glare at him. He's not even bothered. He had worse from his mother when he nearly lost his title as valedictorian by one point in middle school.

Suddenly, the three of them were arguing. Voices picking up in volume as they tried to over talk the other. He could feel the guilt build up in him as he recalled the things he had said. It was probably the only time that he had felt actual hatred between the three of them as their words were spoken with pure venom.

Shame had burned his lungs as the three officers scolded them. He couldn't bear with the disappointment in their eyes. He just couldn't believe that he had done that. That he had said those things, but it was just something about Indirah and Keith that brought out another side of him.

He was a little surprised that the other two agreed to do the program even though they weren't being given much of a choice.

[_He remembers being kids at three different schools all competing in spelling bees trying to beat each other out. He remembers going to little league baseball games and seeing Indirah on the sidelines cheering. Firemen Banquets with Keith standing with his dad smiling. He remembers being in the crowd and watching in confusion and shock as Keith broke down crying in front of a casket. He remembers watching the news seeing Indirah yell and scream as she was forcibly carried away from a woman that look so much like her as she bled. He remembers them disappearing. He remembers seeing Indirah on television once again as America's sweetheart. He remembers seeing her on the news for robot conventions. He remembers the day Keith walked back into his life. He remembers how the boy looked dead. He remembers him scowling. He remembers him staring out into the sky. He remembers his mother yelling angry at him as Keith snuck up on him and battled him for valedictorian position. He remembers her hand ripping at him dangerously. He remembers Keith leaving for another school. He remembers another spelling bee. He remembers them being reunited again. He remembers how none of them no longer shared that old spark. He remembers losing to Indirah. He remembers his mother hitting him. He remembers Indirah throwing her trophy at his mother. He remembers Keith tackling his mother to the ground. He remembers the small smiles on their faces. He remembers their past. He remembers being taken out of school. He remembers going back. He remembers Keith coming back. He remembers Indirah showing up. And then he remembers nothing.]_

He remembers the distant echo of a scream as they left.

James can relate.

Now here it is the next morning and James was sitting stiffly in between Keith and Indirah. The GGT were sitting in front of them with the detailed slips that would change their future. James instantly noticed the difference between their slips and other mentees. Theirs were silver gold lining with the principal's and admiral's signature on them. They still had their designated mentor (his was Officer Watson) but the other two GGT members were also printed on it. He could even see Indirah's and Keith's names printed onto the slip.

The apology letters in his satchel seemed to be weighing him down from guilt.

He wasn't really sure how to feel now that it was actually happening. He chances a glance at the other two and he can spot the twin looks of awe mixed into their grimaces. Keith's stops pushing his eggs around before picking up his slip. He glances up at Officer Shirogane with a seemingly bored look on his face, "It's not like it'd be that much different from the usual." The man smiles back proudly.

James and Indirah hesitate before picking up their own slips. He could see her smiling lightly as she traces over the slip before pulling out a well-worn notebook and descending into techno speak with Officer Holt.

He glances back down at his own slip before his attention is dragged towards Officer Watson. He was smiling encouragingly at him. He had a notebook out himself and James could see some of the things that Indirah had added to the simulators circled.

James found himself smiling back.

Maybe this could work.


End file.
